


Geometry

by kitkatt0430



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Barry is though but to be fair he's going through a lot, Barry likes Iris, Barry unwittingly wooing his beloveds with Star Wars, Eddie has no game, Eddie likes Barry, Iris West is not oblivious, Iris likes Eddie, Minor Misunderstandings, Multi, Narrator having fun at character's expense, Polyamory, at least Iris knows what she's doing here, bisexual and pansexual disasters abound, but then no one ever learns that on the show..., cisco and caitlin should know better than to gossip where they might be overheard, most love triangles are really love Vs, well okay so Iris is a little oblivious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 11:20:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28973475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitkatt0430/pseuds/kitkatt0430
Summary: One definition of geometry would be that it is the mathematical study of the properties and relations of points, lines, surfaces, solids, and higher dimensional analogs.  Admittedly, not something Iris had thought would be super useful for her future career choices, even as she swerves from psychology into journalism.Until, that is, Eddie Thawne asks her if she knows if Barry Allen is attracted to men and suddenly Iris finds herself contemplating the complexity of triangles.
Relationships: Barry Allen/Eddie Thawne, Barry Allen/Eddie Thawne/Iris West, Barry Allen/Iris West, Eddie Thawne/Iris West
Comments: 38
Kudos: 36





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AvatarSkywalker78](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvatarSkywalker78/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From over on Tumblr:  
> 
>
>> rebelqueen-immortalbadass: First off, I apologise because tumblr won't let me send you a proper ask. Secondly, shows never do a proper love triangle - A loves B, B loves C, and C loves A. I'd love to see that with the Flash with Barry, Iris, and Eddie as A, B and C, because I feel it would take Barry a while to realise the situation. Thank you.  
> 
> 
>   
> While the triangle doesn't remain unrequited in all directions forever, it definitely starts off meeting rebelqueen-immortalbadass' (AvatarSkywalker78) requirements. I'm about 3/4ths of the way done with the story, so the time has come to start slowly posting what I've got, as by the time the third chapter goes up I'm sure I'll have the fourth chapter done.

Iris never made it through to the end of _Twilight_ , so she never even reached the love triangle that her peers became obsessed over in college. It was the whole Edward watching Bella sleep thing. Up until that point Bella was already boring and personality-less, but finding Edwards actions romantic instead of creepy, text-book stalking?

The book was promptly returned to the library as Iris moved on to better stories and she never even bothered with the movies.

She'd loved _The Hunger Games_ , though, and she'd been all for Peeta. For all that Gale was the childhood friend, Peeta was the one who'd reminded her of Barry. And while Iris wasn't interested in dating Barry herself... she did tend to enjoy books where the love interest reminded her of him.

Then there was the show _Haven_ where Audrey chose the law enforcing Nathan over the law breaking Duke - though admittedly that one would have improved immensely if they'd just all hooked up. 

And who could forget Iris' love for Tamora Pierce's _Song of the Lioness_ series where Lady Knight Alanna dallied with Prince Johnathon before ultimately choosing the future spy master, George.

The theme here being love triangles, of course. Not that they were actually triangles. More like... lines of force.

Lines of force were basically an imaginary line - often denoted with an arrow - that represented the strength and direction of a magnetic, gravitational, or electric field at any point. (Take that, Barry, she had been paying attention.) In this case there were three points. The 'strong female character' and her two 'handsome eligible love interests' made up the three points of the so called triangle. But both men had lines pointing straight at the woman and while she might reciprocate both their affections at one time or another, ultimately she'd only pick one of them. And of course, dating both was out of the question as was the idea of one or both of the men being attracted to each other. (Well, homoerotic subtext was allowed, but nothing concrete.) But if there are only lines leading from point A to point B and from point C to point B, but nothing between points A and C? That's not a triangle. It's a V.

During her sophomore year of undergrad, Iris had taken both geometry and a literary analysis class that focused on modern trends in romantic literature. It was a very weird semester and gave Iris extremely complex feelings towards triangles in general. (She'd passed both classes, however. 3.2 and 3.8 respectively. As long as her GPA didn't drop below a 3.0, she got to keep her scholarship through all four years of undergrad, so she'd been quite pleased with her grades.)

Iris had never really expected any of that to be relevant to her life after college, though. While she enjoyed the improved literary analysis skills, odds were she wasn't going to need geometry much beyond plotting the best route to drive to and from work every day and what were the odds she'd wind up in a love triangle? (Or a love V, to be more accurate.)

So it rather took her by surprise to realize exactly what was going on.

* * *

(Point one on the triangle. Name? Iris West. Cute, single, working at Central City Jitters as a barista and attending CCU to complete her masters in psychology.

Point two on the triangle. Name? Eddie Thawne. Also cute and single, but works at the CCPD where he's the youngest detective on the force and the new partner of Joe West, Iris West's father. He frequents Jitters and Iris has mistakenly assumed the reason why.)

It's an average afternoon, a little on the slow side, when Barry and Eddie show up for their afternoon coffee break. Iris gently teases Barry about how she's got another science related press conference to attend next week and how she hopes he won't be late this time. Someone has to explain the nerdy stuff to her. She's not to shabby on the nerdy stuff on her own, but she likes the way Barry breaks it down for her so it's easier for her to wrap her brain around. And she likes the excuse to spend some extra time with him because he's been so busy lately that she feels like she never sees him anymore.

Then she flirts with Eddie, telling him all about their new drink 'the Flash' and cheerfully teasing a cute blush out of him. Eddie goes with a caramel macchiato anyway and Iris winks at him as she adds an extra pump of caramel to it. According to Barry, Eddie likes his coffee ridiculously sweet, so Iris does this pretty much every time Eddie orders. And, well, he keeps ordering the same drink from her so he must like it, right?

Iris keeps an eye on Barry and Eddie once they settle at a table and drink coffee together, chatting about... probably station gossip. Barry's still playing catch up since waking up from his coma several weeks earlier, which is the main reason Iris watches them chat. Sometimes she'll see him around and just go still for a few moments, reminded jarringly about how close she came to losing him. How if things had gone just a little bit worse, maybe Barry never would've woken up. And she'd never have gotten to see his smile and laugh ever again.

But Iris does have another reason to watch them. Eddie Thawne is hot. While Iris would've noticed Eddie eventually - he is her dad's new partner at work, after all - she noticed him much faster since Barry started bringing Eddie to Jitters on their coffee breaks.

Sometimes Barry'll linger for a few minutes afterwards, delivering a message from Joe or to let Iris know he'll be having dinner at the West house that evening. But today Barry leaves first and Eddie lingers, finishing his caramel macchiato. And Iris takes that as her cue.

"I'm going to take my break a little early, if that's okay?" She asked Kendra and Amy.

"It's fine," Amy replied. "We're having a lull in the customers so it's a good time for it."

Kendra gave her a knowing smirk. "Good luck."

"Thanks." Iris grinned and slipped out from behind the counter to settle across the table from Eddie. "Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all," Eddie replied, smile wide and gorgeous. "I've actually been meaning to talk to you about something."

"Oh, really?" Iris could feel her heart thudding with anticipation. This was already going well. "What about? You can ask me anything."

"Um, first... are you and Barry... dating or not-yet-dating or something like that? Because he said you two weren't, but he can be a little oblivious to... well," Eddie blushed and glanced away.

"Oh, no, Barry and I aren't anything like that," she assured him. 

"Do you know if he likes guys?" Eddie asked next.

"Like... romantically?" Iris frowned because... what?

"It's fine if you don't feel comfortable telling me. If he does and he's not out or something I don't want to..." Eddie sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, I'm going about this all wrong. It's just... I really like him and I was hoping maybe you'd know if I've even got a shot with Barry."

Iris felt a little lightheaded because... Eddie hadn't been coming to Jitters because of her after all. He always came with Barry. He came to Jitters because of Barry.

(Point three on the triangle. Name? Barry Allen. Adorable, single, and also works at the CCPD. Joe West's foster son, Iris' best friend, and Eddie Thawne's new crush.)

"Um... no, it's fine. I just... wasn't expecting you to ask that," Iris told him, pasting on a bright, fake smile. "Barry's bi. And he's open about it, so I'm not breaking his confidence telling you or anything like that."

"That's good to hear," Eddie said, smiling contentedly as he finished the last of his drink. "I've got to head back to the station, but I really appreciate you telling me that. Now to work up the courage to actually ask him out. Which could, admittedly, take a long while." He stood up. "See you later, Iris."

"Bye, Eddie." Iris sat there for a few moments longer, not really sure how to explain what just happened.

But what was evident was that Iris liked Eddie... and Eddie liked Barry. A classic love V, right?

(Wrong.)

* * *

Barry hates lying to Iris, which probably makes it a little funny that he'd been putting off telling her what his feelings for her were since junior high. He's been in love with her for a lot longer than that, but junior high is when it started to matter.

He's twenty-five now, so it's long past the point of ridiculousness. And, unfortunately, it's no longer the only super important information about himself that Barry is now keeping from Iris.

Because now Barry's got super powers. He should be sharing that information with his best friend and he's... not. He promised Joe he wouldn't and, well... Barry is having second thoughts about actually keeping that promise. (And third, fourth, fifth, sixth...)

Barry's fairly certain he's acting weird and that Iris is starting to notice. Mostly because she's been quietly glowering at him all evening.

It was family dinner night, not that Tuesdays were the only evening where Barry would show up for dinner. But it was the one night a week they were pretty much guaranteed to all be together - Barry, Iris, and Joe - barring work emergencies. Even when Barry had been out of state for college, they'd figured out how to make skype work so that Barry could still be there as best he could, jittery and lagging wi-fi connections aside.

But family dinner night was also supposed to be an evening for putting aside any arguments until the next day and just... having fun together. However, it seemed whatever he'd done to upset Iris was not being set aside. In fact, she seemed increasingly irritable as the evening progressed. It put an uncomfortable knotted feeling in Barry's chest and was killing his appetite.

Maybe... maybe he should just go home early tonight.

He was just... tired after being snapped at for the umpteenth time - for saying the _Charlie's Angel_ movie from 2000 hadn't really held up well (which it hadn't) of all things. So now apparently he wasn't allowed to talk about whatever movie he let play on tv in the background while he did chores on the weekend. Or whatever.

So Barry retreated to the back yard while Joe put dessert in the oven and debated the pros and cons of ducking out early. Given Joe's sympathetic looks earlier, Barry might actually be able to get away with it tonight.

The back door opened right as Barry sat down on the one of the patio chairs and he tried not to cringe too visibly as Iris - and her bad attitude - followed him outside. She sat down on yet another patio chair and they sat there in an awkward silence.

Eventually, though, Barry couldn't take it anymore. Silence just... dragged on so badly now that he had his speed. Not that he'd been good with it before, but... now it grated on him something awful. So he broke the silence. "I'm sorry."

"What?" Iris startled and gave him a bewildered look.

"Clearly I've done something to upset you," Barry persevered. "You've been not-so-passive aggressively pissed off at me all evening, so I must have done something. And much as I hate apologizing when I don't know what I'm apologizing for... I am sorry that I've upset you."

"You... you haven't done anything wrong, Bar," Iris said, bad mood finally, visibly deflating. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. I... I found out the guy I like actually likes someone else today. And my coworkers knew I was going to ask him out, only I didn't because he likes someone else and it was kind of humiliating. And I've been taking my frustration out on you, which has been awful of me. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, it's... it's always hard, finding out the person you like has feelings for someone else." Barry's smile went a little fixed. "Who was it? You never mentioned crushing on anyone to me."

"Just a regular at Jitters. Nice guy, polite, quite possibly actually gay." Iris grinned when Barry let out an amused laugh. "Don't mock my pain, Bar."

"Just thinking that you never get to tease me about crushing on Maggie 'Obviously a Lesbian' Sawyer back in high school ever again." Barry stuck his tongue out at Iris.

Iris sighed, "I have a confession to make."

"Yeah?"

"I made out with her under the bleachers of our last home game senior year." Iris giggled as Barry laughed again.

"No wonder you thought it was obvious she was a lesbian," Barry sighed, rolling his eyes at her as she snickered again. Smiling at her contentedly, Barry realized he'd missed this. When was the last time they'd just hung out, the two of them, and had an easy conversation? Being the Flash was taking up so much of his time lately... and he couldn't share any of it with her.

Not so long as he kept his promise to Joe. And after what happened with Tony Woodward last week, it was pretty well proven that keeping Iris in the dark wasn't actually keeping her safe...

"Meet me at STAR Labs tomorrow," Barry said, the blushed realizing that sounded more like a command than a request. "I mean, if you've got time after work. There's something I really want to show you."

"Yeah, sure." Iris tilted her head to the side, "is this something Dr. Wells would be okay with you showing off? I know that you've been hanging out there with Cisco and Caitlin and your longtime idol, Dr. Wells, but I don't want to get you in trouble with any of them. Especially since you don't actually work there."

"It'll be fine, I promise." After all, it wasn't really their secret he wanted to trust Iris with. It was his secret and he ought to be the one who decided who knew and who didn't. Not Dr. Wells or Cisco or Caitlin... and definitely not Joe.

"Alright, then. My shift is over at six, so meet you at the STAR Labs lobby at six-thirty. Or six-forty-five for the perpetually late," she teased.

He smirked because he just knew, for once, he was definitely not going to be late. "You never know," he teased back, "maybe I'll get there first for a change."

* * *

Eddie had a bit of a spring in his step going into work that morning because... Barry was bi. Barry was attracted to men. Barry - cute, adorable, messes up his hair when he's nervous Barry - liked dudes. And Eddie was a disaster bi who was also into guys.

Maybe they could be into each other?

Yeah, no, definitely not using that as a pick up line. What was he even thinking?

(Mostly he was daydreaming about what Barry's lips would taste like, if he was being perfectly honest.)

He had to say something, though, if he was ever going to actually take the risk and ask Barry out. He didn't have any time after getting back from Jitters the day before, having to go talk to witnesses in a robbery. But today... today was full of possibility. In fact, Eddie had reason to go visit Barry's lab right now.

Eddie practically bounced up the stairs and into Barry's lab. He mentally rehearsed things like 'hey, do you want to get drinks together after work sometime?' or 'there's this club near my apartment that's LGBT friendly and I thought maybe you could come with me to try it out?' and things like that on the way. So by the time he walked through the door, Eddie was sure he was ready.

And then he saw Barry - saw the bright smile on Barry's face as he looked up at Eddie from beside the mass-spectrometer - and his brain turned to mush. "Hey Barry," Eddie greeted, his nerves going haywire as every thought he had on the way into the lab slipped away in favor of 'oh god so cute'.

"Eddie," Barry replied, "report's not ready yet, sorry."

"Oh that's, uh, that's fine, that's not..." Eddie resisted the urge to hide his face behind his hands as he tripped over his words. Not smooth, Eddie. Not smooth at all. Okay, stop, take a deep breath, try again. "Would you like to grab some drinks together tonight?"

Barry's smile turned into a thoughtful frown. "I'm kind of busy tonight, but... I could join you after? Iris'll be with me, if you don't mind the extra company?"

"That's, that's fine..." it was not fine. "Give me a call when you guys are free and we can pick a place." Eddie's mouth continued without his brain's consent. "Anyway, I'll be back up later for that report."

"Cool. It'll be ready around two, okay?"

"Sure thing." Eddie gave a little wave and then fled the room. 

Well. That was an abject failure.

* * *

Iris arrives at STAR labs on time. And, to her surprise, Barry really is there before her, sitting on the steps leading to the building's main lobby and a ridiculously smug grin on his face.

"Oh my god, I've seen a miracle," Iris teased, offering him a hand up. "You actually got somewhere before me."

Barry rolled his eyes at her. "It's not the first time."

"But it's so rare. Like a solar eclipse that's visible from Central City." Iris snickered as he looked torn between being annoyed for her mockery and being pleased she'd made a science reference. "So, what cool science thing are you just dying to share with me?" she asked, not wanting to push too hard after her little jealous snit the night before. Barry was her best friend - would always be her best friend. Even if he was unintentionally stealing all the attention of the guy Iris was crushing on.

Barry blushed, looking down at their hands. Which... huh, Iris was still holding his hand. Whoops. She let go.

Regaining his equilibrium, Barry looked back up at her. It's not so much a thing in STAR Labs as it is... well..." he sighed. "Better to just show you." And then he was gone. In a blur of motion and lightning.

A familiar blur of motion and lighting, in fact. The one Iris had started writing about on her blog last week.

"You're the Flash!" Iris exclaimed and then clapped her hands over her mouth, giddy with excitement. "Holy shit."

Barry came back into view and gave her his phone... which was open to a new picture of her, hands over her mouth, taken from on top of the building in front of her. "I'm really fast now."

"Since you woke up?" Iris asked. When he nodded, she swatted his arm lightly. "Why didn't you tell me? Are the geeks here helping you figure out your abilities? Where did you get that ridiculous red suit from? How fast can you run? Why didn't you tell me???"

Chuckling, Barry drew Iris into a hug, both of them rocking back and forth and giggling like idiots. When he pulled away, he said, "yeah, Dr. Wells, Caitlin, and Cisco have been helping me figure out my powers. The red suit was a prototype firefighter suit for dealing with oil rig fires and things like that."

"Hell fighters," Iris said with a nod, her brain jumping straight to the John Wayne movie they must've watched with her dad a few dozen times as kids.

"Exactly. I've set more clothing on fire this last month than the rest of my life."

"So more than three times," Iris said, thinking about that one month in high school when Barry had accidentally set himself on fire in their Chemistry class. It was, mostly, his lab partner's fault. And their teacher saw Barry's lab safety failures drop to zero once she stopped forcing him to partner with Tony Woodward.

"Yes, Iris, more than three times. Anyway," he was blushing again, likely in embarrassment. Though whether that was over the high school clothing fires or the more recent ones... "I can run fast enough to break the sound barrier if I need to. Which is awesome. That's, uh... how I was able to punch Tony hard enough to make him stop using his own powers."

"And then I punched his lights out," Iris preened, then frowned. "Why didn't you tell me then?"

Barry grimaced and ran a hand over his face. "Ah, well... after I first woke up, Clive Mardon was using his weather powers? And he nearly killed Chyre, again, hence the retirement. But Mardon also made a tornado out of nothing and I had to run fast enough to unravel it. Chyre was unconscious... but Joe wasn't. He saw it was me and made me promise not to tell you. A promise I have now broken because I realized that it was doing more harm than good. Though he's going to be really pissed off when he finds out..."

"I will deal with dad myself," Iris growled, crossing her arms and eyes narrowing. He'd probably tried to convince Barry that the secret was for her safety, or whatever, but that excuse wouldn't fly with her. "And while you shouldn't have agreed in the first place, I know what dad's like when he's being unreasonable and how hard it is for you to tell either of us no even when we're wrong. And you're telling me now. So all is forgiven."

A relieved smile lit up Barry's face. "So, want to go see where we keep the suit?"

"Of course." Iris linked arms with Barry as they headed into the building. "And I need to see you show off some more, because that is so cool."

Once inside, Barry just chatters excitedly about everything that's been going on in his life that Iris hadn't even realized was happening these last several weeks. And she hates thinking that she missed out on it because her dad was being over protective.

And while Barry probably doesn't realize he's doing it, Iris can hear the hurt in his voice sometimes when he talks about her dad and the way he'd yo-yo-ed over being supportive. Between that and making Barry promise not to tell her... she'd worked hard after Barry came to live with them to make him feel like he was part of the family. Iris knew her dad had too, but it was hard for Barry to feel that sense of family when Joe 'Always Gotta Be Right' West was telling him his father was a murderer and sending him to shrinks who'd say the same thing. And there was her dad, alienating Barry from the West family all over again.

It was infuriating. Her dad was in so much trouble, it wasn't even funny.

At least Cisco and Caitlin had turned out to be good friends for Barry. And Wells was weird, but nice. Barry showed off the Flash suit - and he was insistent that he be called the Flash and not the Blur, which was adorable - and the treadmill Cisco had made to clock his speed. He showed that he was still a dork when he tried to run backwards on it and promptly slammed into the cardboard boxes filled with packing peanuts behind him. While Cisco went to help, Caitlin just sighed. 

"He does that a lot?" Iris asked in amusement.

"Yeah. For someone with the ability to think faster than the speed of sound, I'm not sure he remembers to utilize that ability for forethought." Caitlin exchanged an amused 'why are boys so smart and so dumb?' look with Iris. "As long as he doesn't break anything, I'm not worried. If he does break something, I have to set it quickly since he heals so fast."

"Well that's a relief. I mean, I guess I should have realized something was off when he was up and about so fast after his coma, but I was just so glad he was awake again..." she'd wanted to pretend those nine months were a terrible, awful nightmare.

"Despite how dangerous the things he's been doing as the Flash are - and I was against him endangering himself, just to let you know - it's not necessarily as dangerous as it should be due to his speed and healing. And now we can include you on the group chat... so you can be here on the comms with us in the evenings when something... Team Flash goes down."

"Sounds good," Iris said, watching Cisco help Barry to his feet. "We've always been there for each other and I don't want that to change just because he's a meta human now."

"Good. I get worried about his recklessness sometimes," Caitlin said with a sigh. She shook her head. "I keep thinking he'd have gotten along with Ronnie so well..."

"Ronnie?" Iris echoed.

"He was... he was my fiancé. But he died the night the accelerator..." Caitlin trailed off and shook her head. "I'm glad you got Barry back, Iris."

So was Iris. She turned to watch as Barry grinned and ducked his head sheepishly, waving at her through the observation window. He'd been so still during his coma; seeing him like this, all motion and smiles and...

She'd nearly lost this. Her best friend. Iris couldn't even imagine such a loss being permanent, like Caitlin had suffered.

Lost in her own little world, Iris didn't notice when Caitlin left or that Barry had come back around until he was tapping her on the shoulder. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Iris smiled at him. "I'm great. What you can do is really amazing, Bar."

He blushed and rubbed at the back of his neck. "So, I sort of promised Eddie we'd meet up with him for drinks tonight," Barry said.

"Both of us, or just you?" Iris asked. If Eddie had intended for this to be a date and Barry had misunderstood, Iris didn't want to accidentally crash things for him. She probably should've warned Eddie that Barry could be really oblivious to other people's feelings sometimes, so he'd need to be blunt. But she'd been reeling with embarrassment and jealousy yesterday... and if she was being honest, she was still jealous. 

"Both of us," Barry said firmly. "I kind of get the impression Eddie's been lonely since moving here from Keystone. He needs more friends and, as you're the best friend I know..."

No wonder Eddie had such a crush. Barry was just so sweet. It made Iris go a little warm fuzzy, despite her jealousy.

"Well alright then. How could I say no after such a compliment," Iris teased. "Go clean up and I'll meet you at my car, okay?"

"Sure," Barry chirped. "I need to talk to Cisco for a minute, but you shouldn't be waiting but for a few minutes. Promise."

Iris nodded and then headed out of the room, towards the elevators, but then nearly face palmed and headed back to the cortex as she realized she'd left her purse on the floor by the door. As she neared the doorway, she heard voices talking.

"So are you ever going to tell her the other thing, man?" Cisco was asking as he walked with Barry in the opposite direction of Iris. She didn't think they even saw her, or likely Cisco never would have asked that question.

"What other thing?" Barry asked, voice nervous.

Iris quickly ducked into the cortex and out of sight. That was Barry's 'I'm hiding something' voice. He'd just told her about being the Flash - what could he possibly still be hiding?

"I don't know, the whole being in love with her since you were eleven thing?" Cisco teased.

Barry made a strangled noise that, thankfully, covered up Iris' own startled sound. "She doesn't feel the same way, so what's the point?" Barry's voice was almost too faint to be heard at this point and whatever Cisco's response was, Iris couldn't hear it.

She just... sank down to the floor for a moment, clutching her purse and grateful that she was alone in the cortex. Because Barry was in love with her.

Barry Allen was in love with Iris West.

She was officially in a genuine love triangle. Not a mislabeled love V, but lines of force from point A to point B, from point B to point C, and from point C to point A. In short, a classic triangle figure.

Which meant... Iris was in trouble.


	2. Chapter 2

For those keeping score (like Iris most definitely is), there is currently a love triangle happening here. Not a faux love triangle that actually looks like a V, but a genuine triangle that has taken the form of A likes B who likes C who likes A. Or, for clarification's sake...

Iris West => Eddie Thawne

Eddie Thawne => Barry Allen

Barry Allen => Iris West

Of the three players in this game, only Iris is aware of the current state of things. Both Barry and Eddie are blissfully unaware of the romantic comedy they've all stumbled into. And, naturally, they're all having dinner together at a brew pub, which was originally intended to be a first date between Barry and Eddie, but due to miscommunication has become three friends hanging out.

Much as Iris would have liked to take a few minutes - or hours... or days - to process the whole 'Barry was in love with her' revelation, she does not get to have a timeout before the next play is called.

* * *

Eddie was a detective for a living, so he liked to think that he wasn't totally oblivious. So he knew something was wrong the moment Barry and Iris sat down across from him in the booth at the The Sine Wave. Well... not necessarily wrong, but weird.

Iris was flustered about something, but clearly Barry didn't know what because he just looked confused. (A confused Barry was an adorable Barry, but Eddie might be just a little biased.) This meant Eddie and Barry were the ones carrying the conversation for a while there. Which was... fine. This had been intended originally as a date with Barry and maybe Iris had realized that, but couldn't figure out how to politely bow out while talking to Barry. It'd explain why she was flustered. Well, it might explain why she was flustered.

By the time their food arrived, however, Iris had settled down somewhat, which was definitely a good thing because outside of her Jitter's work persona, Iris was actually pretty amazing. 

When it came to people in the food service industry, Eddie always just sort of... tuned out on any attraction he might feel. Because a barista or a waiter or whatever their job title happened to be was doing their job and being flirted with - or otherwise being put on the spot - was actually a pretty awful thing to do to them. Especially if they were dependent on tips. The last thing Eddie wanted was to make someone worry about their job just because he couldn't keep his mouth shut.

So Eddie had kind of... slotted Iris into the 'attractive, but don't say anything' column since he'd only ever seen her at work. But this wasn't work, this was social. And Iris was gorgeous and smart and funny. And clearly enjoyed trolling Barry.

"Seriously, Iris," Barry said, shaking his head, "you've only watched _Star Wars_ with me how many times? How can you not remember the Millennium Falcon is the name of Han's ship?"

"I didn't even know the main character's name was Han," Eddie offered innocently.

Barry made a distressed noise. Iris was hiding her mouth behind her hand, though her shaking shoulders totally gave away her laughter.

"H-how can you..." Barry shook his head. "Have you never watched _Star Wars_?"

"I was never really all that into science fiction," Eddie admitted. "Well, _Stargate_ was the exception, but original _Star Trek_ was too campy and I never had time for any of the sequels. And I think I saw the _Phantom Menace_ when it was in theaters, but all I really remember was the pod racing."

"Can I talk you into watching the original trilogy with me?" Barry begged. "Just once. If you don't like them, I'll never bug you about them again. It's just... a travesty that you've never seen them."

"Though if you're going to watch the originals, then you should watch the prequels after. Just once for those too, because Ewan McGregor is so hot in those. Especially with the beard," Iris chimed in.

"You can remember Obi-Wan is hot, but not the name of the most iconic ship in the entire franchise." Barry gave her an appalled look. 

Iris just smirked. "Priorities, Bar."

"Having seen various other movies with Ewan McGregor in them, I have to concur with Iris," Eddie said solemnly. "Handsome man is handsome."

Barry just groaned. "Oh god, now there's two of you."

"But marathoning _Star Wars_ with you does sound like fun." Eddie grinned, feeling all warm and floaty when Barry smiled back at him just as brightly. "And Iris, you'll have to join us for at least the prequels so we can annoy Barry gushing over... Obi-Wan was it?"

"Obi-Wan McGregor," Iris agreed, nodding while Barry made another distressed noise.

"Kenobi," Barry corrected. "Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"Him too," Eddie agreed with a laugh.

"Why are you both so mean?" Barry grumbled, pouting now.

Iris ruffled Barry's hair in amusement. "Only 'cause we love you, Barry," she teased. And then she blushed, glancing at Eddie. But he was grinning happily at the two, enjoying their antics.

Much as he'd have enjoyed going on a date with Barry, Eddie had to admit that having it be the three of them instead of just two made having dinner together much less awkward.

"Are you free this weekend?" Barry asked, looking back up at Eddie.

"Sure. No plans," in part because he barely knew anyone aside from Barry, and now Iris.

"Awesome. If you come over in the morning, we can watch the original trilogy and then give Iris a call to come join us for the prequels in the afternoon." Barry turned to Iris, "or does that not work with your schedule?"

"Saturday?" Iris questioned. When Barry nodded, she said, "actually that's perfect. I've got a shift at Jitters that morning, but I can give you guys a call when I get off work at noon and pick up lunch on the way over."

Eddie beamed. "So since we're on science fiction, did either of you ever watch _Stargate_?" 

"Barry was Daniel Jackson for Halloween one year, so yeah, we watched it," Iris replied elbowing Barry.

"Well you went as Samantha Carter, so it's not like I was the only fan of the show." Barry grinned impishly. "We were escorting some elementary kids that year, so we designated one of the kids who was also in military fatigues as Teal'c. He thought the whole Goa'uld thing was super cool."

"Bet his parents didn't appreciate him wanting to watch _SG-1_ afterwards, though."

"I don't know, it wasn't a kids show but... aside from the series premiere it never really had anything inappropriate or particularly gory in it," Eddie mused. "It actually probably made for a pretty good family night show. So did _Atlantis_ , though _Universe_ was... a hot mess."

"Yeah, I tried to stick it out with _Universe_ and then... they started having sex while in other people's bodies and I noped out." Barry shook his head. 

"Held out longer than I did," Eddie told him. "It was like they'd learned all the wrong lessons from _Battlestar Galactica_. Though, admittedly, I found that one unwatchable too..."

"Same," Iris said. "Listening to Bar describe that show was like hearing about a soap opera set in space."

"I'd object, but... I mean... you're not wrong." Barry shrugged. "Amnesia, mistaken identity, surprise incest..."

Eddie choked on his drink at that point.

* * *

Iris had started off dinner reeling from the revelation that Barry was in love with her. And that they were on their way to a pub to spend time with Eddie, whom Iris had a crush on and who had a crush on Barry, just made it that much more awkward.

And yet... somehow... it got easier. Nothing had actually changed with Barry, just her understanding of what the status quo between them really was. And things felt so settled and comfortable between the three of them once they started chatting over dinner that, well, Iris was loathe for the night to end. Which explained why she'd agreed to the Saturday _Star Wars_ movie marathon. 

She probably should've said no. Given Eddie his chance to ask Barry out after they agreed that Luke was totally gay and that Han was... Han was dating both the twins.

Frowning, Iris hummed to herself as she tried to figure out why that thought was niggling at her so much tonight.

Because she was in a real life love triangle, most likely. How many times had she been reading or watching something with a love 'triangle' in it and thought 'this would be so much better with polyamory'? So, so many.

It was just so weird to think that Barry was in love with her. And Cisco knew? Did Caitlin know? What about her dad? How many people knew Barry was in love with her and she'd... missed it? Something that important about her best friend and she'd never even noticed...

Yet it was also flattering. Because Barry knew her better than anyone. All her best qualities, but also the parts of herself that Iris didn't like. And he loved her anyway. That... made her feel so bewildered and ambivalent and made her brain whirl in spirals and her chest feel all warm and cozy...

So... not all that different from how Eddie was starting to make her feel, if she was being honest. 

But it was one thing to look at her favorite show and decide that the main trio should just jump into bed together and resolve things that way. It was another thing entirely to apply that logic to her own life when she had no idea what her own feelings really were, never mind Barry and Eddie's. And she still had no idea if Eddie was gay or bi...

Groaning, Iris rolled over in bed and glared at her alarm clock blearily. The glowing numbers read 2:47 AM. Grabbing her spare pillow, she pulled it over her head and willed herself to sleep. She had class in the morning. She couldn't afford to fall asleep during the lecture.

* * *

Barry could be a little slow on picking up social cues. Which, he supposed, made it somewhat ironic that he was now the fastest man alive. Because he was still running on slow for everything else.

That's probably why he didn't realize that Eddie liked Iris until the Saturday _Star Wars_ -athon.

Eddie had gotten to Barry's apartment about eight o'clock. He'd brought breakfast, coffee, and an adorably sunny smile. They'd settled on the couch, put on the dvd for _A New Hope_. Eddie had enjoyed the movie well enough, though he admitted to already knowing the whole Vader being Luke's dad thing. Barry was relatively certain he didn't know about Leia being Luke's sister, though, so he was looking forward to seeing Eddie's reaction to that one. Eddie had also been fascinated by Barry's explanation for how the trench run of the Death Star was filmed, given as Barry swapped out the DVDs to play _The Empire Strikes Back_ next. 

Iris called when they were close to the end of the movie, which they paused in order to discuss lunch options with her on speaker. And Barry mentioned that they hadn't quite reached _Return of the Jedi_ yet.

"Oh, wait for me to start that one. I love the killer teddy bears."

"You got it," Barry had promised, grinning at the comical look on Eddie's face as he'd mouthed 'killer teddy bears'. He clearly thought Iris was trolling him.

But then Iris gets there with the food and they all chat for a bit while one of the special features for the movie played. A mockumentary about R2-D2. Well, it's on in the background anyway, but they're not really watching it because Iris is proving she does indeed remember more about the _Star Wars_ movies than she normally let on.

"So what are your thought's on Lando?" Iris asked.

"Incorrigible flirt," Eddie declared. "Though at least fifty percent of his flirting with Leia was about annoying Han."

Laughing, Iris nodded. "So I've always thought that Lando had a thing for both of them and would've gone for pretty much any type of hook-up Han and Leia were up for."

"Oh I can see that," Eddie agreed, nodding solemnly. "They're both hot and if it weren't for the whole Darth Vader hiding in his conference room thing, he'd have totally started wining and dining them both. Chewie as chaperone making sure no one gets too handsy with his adopted human on the first date." 

Iris giggles and that's when Barry notices it.

He'd gotten up to grab another soda and looked back to see a soft, fond look on Eddie's face as he leaned slightly towards Iris. He was gravitating towards her... like Barry did.

It didn't necessarily mean anything. Barry set his drink down on the coffee table, finally swapped out for the next DVD. "Original or extended edition?" Barry asked Iris.

"What have you watched so far? Did he see Han step on Jabba's tail?" Iris teased.

Barry wrinkled his nose. "It's so weird seeing the opening crawl without the _A New Hope_ subtitle, so I gave in and did the extended editions," Barry admitted, as though it were some grave sin. And it was, exposing Eddie to such nonsense as Greedo shooting first. Barry had made a point of telling Eddie the scene had been re-edited in the re-releases and that the truth was that Han shot first. (Eddie had patted Barry's shoulder and teasingly said 'there, there, it's okay'. Barry had taken the mature route and stuck his tongue out at Eddie in retaliation.)

"Then we might as well continue on with the re-release for this one too. Besides, unlike you, I like the extra musical number." Iris smirked while Barry shook his head sadly. How could he be so in love with someone with such terrible taste?

"Musical number?" Eddie asked hesitantly.

"It's proof George Lucas gave into the dark side of the Force," Barry muttered petulantly, but obligingly slid the extended edition DVD into the drive and left the theatrical version one in their shared case. (The look of horrified fascination on Eddie's face when the Jabba's palace musical number began was priceless, though, and well worth enduring the bizarre scene.)

"Leia and Luke are going to need so much therapy after this," Eddie muttered when Yoda and Obi-Wan revealed the two were twins.

"Eh, they'll be fine. They're gonna be sharing Han in the future anyway," Barry replied.

"Seriously?" Eddie looked interested, perking up.

"Sadly no," Iris replied. "I might've actually read the many, many tie in novels if that happened. Or Lando, Han, and Leia of any variation. But, sadly... Luke winds up with some redheaded chick, I think."

"Mara Jade. And they do eventually get married, but it's... not romantic?" Barry mused thoughtfully. "Honestly, Luke reads like a confused aro across a lot of the books which would explain why his romances generally fizzle out. And Luke and Mara never actually date. They just go on an adventure, realize they click in the Force and enjoy each other's company a lot and want to be a part of each other's lives going forward. And that's after having been friends for years at that point. So they just... get married afterwards."

"That's honestly not a bad reason to get married." Eddie bumped shoulders with Barry and grinned teasingly.

Blushing, Barry wondered where the space between them had disappeared to. Sure, there was less space now that Iris was on the couch with them, but surely...

"So that's the books canon, anyway," Eddie continued, "but you prefer the headcanon where Luke and Han hook up?"

Barry nodded effusively. "Luke being gay is a pretty important headcanon to me because, well... he was the first character I headcanoned that way when I was still figuring out my own preferences. I mean, Han being bi should probably be the big important one for me, but Harrison Ford's attitude towards the franchise kind of..." Barry wrinkled his nose and shrugged. "Mark Hamill is apparently super supportive of the interpretation of Luke being gay, so it just..."

"I get it," Eddie said quietly. "There's always something special about that first character you headcanon as being queer." Eddie looked like he maybe wanted to say something else but went quiet again instead. 

At this point, their hands were so close that they were almost touching on the couch and Barry found himself surprisingly distracted by the question of what he'd do if Eddie held his hand. Which he definitely wouldn't because Eddie probably had a thing for Iris.

"So, Iris," Eddie asked, "who was your first big important headcanon?"

"Oooh, that's a tough one. While near and dear to my heart, it's not Alanna being agender... though that's a close one. Kel being bi maybe? I always did think Veovis was in love with Aitrus in _The Book of Ti'anna_..." 

"CLAMP," Barry said dryly, thinking of their manga _Wish_ in particular.

"Oh, god, yes," Iris said. "So many polyamorous headcanons, so little time."

"Every fandom she likes she has at least one, if not twelve, polyamorous headcanons," Barry told Eddie. "If she ends up in a polycule one day, I will not be surprised." Jealous, but not surprised.

"Shh! Back to the movie," Iris insisted, sticking her tongue out at Barry.

It's shortly after they quiet that the Ewoks show up and Eddie gets what Iris meant about the killer teddy bears. And he literally gasps in shock as Vader, not Luke, defeated the Emperor for the love of his son. "I'm not crying," Eddie mutters, wiping at his face when Vader asks to look upon Luke with his own eyes.

Iris pats Eddie on the shoulder and assures him it gets her every time too. Barry decides it's probably best not to mention how in the comics, Palpatine survived via clones and it was this whole big thing about Leia pulling Luke back from the dark side so that he could defeat Palpatine once and for all.

For all the things Barry was sad to see getting chucked out by Disney as they prepared to start the first movie of their own sequel trilogy, the whole Darth Sidious surviving via Sith sorcery and clones thing wasn't one of them. 

The rest of the evening continued pretty much in the same vein. Watching the movies, discussing them, and gently teasing about headcanons. Barry got to remind Iris that in the _Phantom Menace_ Anakin was nine and Padme fourteen, meaning that the five year age difference really isn't that weird by the time of _Attack of the Clones_ , whereas Iris' preferred Obi-Wan/Padme pairing had a much larger age gap, considering Obi-Wan was twenty-five in Episode One. Though he agreed that Anakin and Padme's relationship was creepy and unhealthy. And Eddie was clearly having fun egging the two of them on when they'd argue over some random movie fact.

By the time Episode Two was coming to a close, they were basically all leaning together on the couch with an empty popcorn bowl in Eddie's lap. Eddie's shoulder was comfortable and Barry hated for the evening to end. But it was late and if they stayed up to watch the last movie then, well...

"I've got an inflatable mattress," Barry said. "So, you know, we could totally just make this a..."

"Sleep over?" Iris suggested.

"Why not?" Eddie mused, glancing between Barry and Iris. "Sounds fun. I can help with breakfast in the morning."

"Pajamas for everyone?" Barry asked.

"I call your college sweats," Iris said immediately, bounding up off the couch. "Where are they? I'm changing in your room first."

Barry rattled off the dresser drawer she should check and smiled fondly as she disappeared into his bedroom. But he wasn't the only one watching her with a soft, fond look. It was as clear as day, to Barry anyway, that Eddie was definitely starting to crush on Iris. Which was disappointing because...

What if both of them liking Iris meant losing Eddie's friendship in the long run? It'd happened once before in high school, after all, and the last thing Barry wanted was to see history repeat itself with Eddie. But also... Barry had gotten used to feeling like he was the focus of Eddie's attention. And while it was fun sharing that focus with Iris tonight... he didn't want to lose Eddie to her entirely. If Eddie and Iris were to date, would either of them even have time for Barry anymore?

But that was a problem for future Barry. Present Barry only had to worry about figuring out where he stashed that inflatable mattress and hoping that the air pump isn't dead. Certainly there's no time for Barry to be wondering why he'd be just as bothered by Eddie dating Iris as he would be by Iris dating Eddie. And there's no reason for him to be hyper aware of any looks passing between Iris and Eddie for the rest of the night, trying to figure out just how mutual Eddie's burgeoning crush might be...

(Of course, in the midst of all this, Barry doesn't quite manage to notice Eddie giving him the same soft, fond looks he gives Iris...)

* * *

Eddie wakes up to see Iris still asleep on the air mattress and Barry making breakfast in the kitchen, singing quietly along with the radio. And it felt like a revelation. As exhilarating as it was terrifying.

He was definitely in love with Barry Allen. But... he was also starting to fall more than a little for Iris West too.

What was he going to do? Eddie really has no idea.

But he gets up to help Barry in the kitchen and has a giggle fit when Iris wakes up and tries to do the same, only to be shooed out by Barry listing a litany of Iris' many cooking fails and kitchen related sins. And when the food is ready, they lounge together on Barry's couch with the first episode of _Star Wars: The Clone Wars_ playing on Netflix.

Eddie wishes every morning could start like this one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I just use Barry's PoV at one point to mock the Star Wars sequels for reusing a plot line from the Star Wars Legends EU that I always hated and making it worse? Yes... yes I did. The Palpatine using clones to body jump thing not only committed the sin of being poorly written, but it was an even worse rip off of an already awful plot twist from the comics.
> 
> *ahem*...
> 
> Anyway :D Iris is figuring out she's very polyamorous, Barry is probably a somewhat oblivious aspec on top of being a clear disaster bi, and while Eddie is set on Barry he's definitely having some not so minor 'oh no she's cute' feelings towards Iris...


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was something off about the pacing of this chapter, so I ended up re-writing part of the Barry and Iris scene and combining two different Eddie PoV scenes into one. Works much better now.

By now all the major players have at least figured out that a small portion of the triangle they involved in.

In reality, it has pretty much begun to settle into something like this: Barry <=> Iris <=> Eddie <=> Barry. 

Iris thinks it looks like: Iris => Eddie => Barry <=> Iris... though she's still figuring out just what her feelings for Barry are.

Eddie thinks its more like: Eddie => Barry and Eddie => Iris. However, he wouldn't be too surprised to learn that Barry <=> Iris was going on too. After all, he'd thought there might be something there before.

And Barry thinks their situation is Barry ?=> Eddie => Iris <= Barry. Much like Iris is only now discovering her feelings for Barry, he's only just starting to recognize what his feelings for Eddie are.

They're so close to figuring out what's really going on. Of course, that's always when misunderstandings are most likely to happen...

* * *

Actions have consequences. Like... Barry telling Iris he's the Flash. That one had pretty easily expected consequences. Such as Iris giving Joe the silent treatment after confronting him about the lies. And, in turn, Joe shouting at Barry without listening to anything Barry had to say and also giving Barry the silent treatment afterwards, because Iris had to learn that somewhere.

Other things had consequences too. Encouraging Iris and Eddie to spend time together showed Eddie how amazing Iris was and showed Iris how sweet Eddie was. And Barry knew he didn't stand a chance of really comparing to either of them. Or any chance of getting to have either of them.

And then there was being the Flash. On the one hand, he was stopping powered criminals. On the other hand, he was attracting the attention of criminals who saw the Flash as an irresistible challenge. Like Leonard Snart.

Leonard Snart was something of a master thief, a criminal genius. And a mechanical genius too. Apparently he'd developed something called the Cold Gun some seven months earlier as part of his plan to steal the Khandaq diamond. Now he was using it to try to 'play' with the Flash. And Barry did not appreciate it.

He was frozen up to his thighs and trying to vibrate out of it. Which is when Eddie shows up.

"Flash!" Eddie hurried over, a worried look on his face. "How can I help?"

The concern warmed Barry and he nearly forgot to vibrate his voice. "Thanks, but I'm not used to being encased in ice. If I can hit the right frequency it should shatter, but..."

"Well you are looking a little chilly there," Eddie teased and then pulled off his jacket, draping it around Barry's shoulders.

Stilling for a moment, Barry blushed. 

Eddie was blushing too and he drew back, ducking his head. "I hope that's a little warmer."

"Y-yeah..." Barry stammered out, more for the heat pooling in his stomach than from the cold gripping his legs, and tried breaking the ice again, vibrating the fastest he'd managed at standstill yet. The ice shattered and Barry stumbled, nearly hitting his knees. Except Eddie caught him. For a few moments - and Barry couldn't tell if they were happening in real time or stretched out milli-seconds - they stared each other in the eyes and... were Eddie's eyes always so pretty?

"Thanks," Barry rasped. He was starving and freezing and he wanted to go curl up on a couch in a blanket with Iris... and with Eddie, whose warm jacket and warmer arms felt so nice right now. "I should... uh..."

Eddie was staring at him with an expression that Barry couldn't quite place. Then he was reaching up to gently brush ice off Barry's cheek, Barry leaning into the touch despite himself. The action was so tender and... intimate feeling; it made Barry's heart race.

Could he have gotten things wrong? Did Eddie have a crush not on Iris, but... on the Flash?

"Thanks," Barry repeated. "Gotta run. See you around, Detective." He scrambled to his feet, putting Eddie jacket into his hands, and rushed off.

* * *

"Iris!" Barry sounded panicked. 

"What? Something wrong?" She frowned as he dropped dramatically onto the couch. They were at her dad's house, though thankfully her dad was off elsewhere instead of glowering silently at Barry from shadowy corners.

Honestly, if this went on too much longer Iris was going to have to strong arm her father into letting things go.

"I think Eddie's got a crush on me."

Iris rolled her eyes. "It's about time you noticed," she muttered. And then she winced because, well, how long had it taken her to realize Barry had a crush on her? And she still didn't know what to do or say about it. Should she be pushing him towards Eddie or should she kiss him herself and see where things went or did she have a sit down with Eddie and Barry, lay out everything, and see if maybe a polyamorous relationship of some kind was the answer.

Certainly she'd had an epiphany during their little slumber party that weekend that, well... Iris wanted some kind of polyamorous relationship for herself one day. She'd thought she was done with her own personal queer revelations after she figured out she was pan and poked at her gender enough to be certain she definitely identified as the gender she was assigned at birth. So this whole love triangle thing was really smacking her face first into her previously unrealized polyamorous inclinations. Which was definitely a state of being queer in and of itself.

Thankfully, Barry didn't seem to hear her little aside. 

"Well, really, he doesn't so much have a crush on me but on the Flash-"

"Who you are," Iris interjected, because she was going to seriously consider thwacking him with a couch pillow if he started talking about the Flash in the third person when she knew his secret identity already.

"Which means he likes part of who I am but not all of who I am which is so... I think I'm confusing myself," he admitted, trailing off for a moment before adding, "I thought he liked you."

They both went very quiet. Then, tentatively, Iris asked, "why did you think he liked me?"

Barry shrugged and ducked his head. "I just... noticed the way he would look at you during our _Star Wars_ marathon. It's... I've seen... I've seen guys look at you like that before. Usually right before they ask you out."

Well, that was promising. Maybe Iris' idle polyamorous dreams could come true after all. "Maybe he likes both of us," Iris mused. Then she frowned. "Why does it bother you that Eddie likes you?"

"It doesn't bother me," Barry spluttered, blushing. "I mean... I just... it's not really me he likes. It's the Flash."

"You are the Flash, Bar," she repeated, but she didn't follow through on the pillow thwacking impulse. Instead she patted his shoulders in a sort of... consoling manner.

"And what happens when he finds out the Flash is just... me and not someone... someone who is actually cool and charming and heroic. I'm... no one ever likes me back," Barry admitted, in a small voice. "And the few times they think they do, we date and it falls apart fast because they figure out they liked the idea of who I was a lot more than who I actually am."

There was a lot to unpack there. So much to unpack. Iris wished, not for the first time, that she could punch Becky Cooper in her perfect little nose just one more time. It'd be worth the assault charge and the night in jail. The feelings of protectiveness and love that swamp Iris are just so...

How had she ever thought she wasn't in love with Barry Allen? 

"You are the most lovable person I know. And I know you better than anyone," Iris told him, wrapping her arms around Barry and holding him tight.

Barry shrugged. "It doesn't... it doesn't really matter. I mean... I was probably misreading things and it doesn't... mean anything... I just... he's my friend and I don't want him to get hurt if he likes the Flash and is disappointed to find out that the Flash is just me, not... whatever non-existent person he's built up in his head."

Iris stroked Barry's hair. "Whatever happened matters because it upset you. But... I want you to consider, for a moment, what upset you might not be because you're afraid Eddie'll get hurt if he finds out your the Flash. You're afraid you'll get hurt. That Eddie'll see you for the amazing, wonderful, brave person you are and he won't love you the way it sounds you already half-wish he did." Iris took a breath. "Barry, you're jealous that Eddie likes the Flash-you and not you-you. But I want you to consider that maybe Eddie does already have feelings for you and... like any reasonable human being, finding out the truth will only make him love you more."

For a moment, Iris wondered if Barry would connect the dots and realize that she loved him. And, well, there certainly was understanding dawning on his face. "Oh crap," he muttered, burying his face behind his hands with a distressed sound. "I am jealous he likes Flash-me and not me-me. Why am I so bad at this?"

"Anxiety issues and childhood trauma," Iris told him, ruffling his hair. "Or so my near-complete psychology masters tells me. Now, because I am be bestest of the best, I'm going to help you out on this, okay Bar? Get the three of us set up for another marathon weekend for... _Lord of the Rings_? And I will help you get the guy." And hopefully both guys would also want to get the girl.

Barry peeked up over his fingertips. "Really?"

"Really, really." Impulsively, Iris leaned over and pecked Barry on the cheek. He was really adorable like this. Made her want to wrap him up in a hug and snuggle him. But that wasn't exactly new.

Which... huh... maybe liking Barry wasn't something that was just springing up now that she knew he liked her. Maybe it had been there all along and she'd just been so used to her feelings being there that she never really bothered to question what they were...

* * *

Eddie would recognize Barry's eyes anywhere. There's a depth and warmth to those gorgeous blue eyes that just... And Barry's voice. Eddie would know him by the sound of his voice alone.

The Flash was usually pretty good at remembering to vibrate such that his features were blurred and his voice echoed in a way that made it unrecognizable. But at the crime scene that morning, when the Flash broke free of Captain Cold's ice... he'd stopped. It wasn't the first time he'd done it around Eddie and he'd been guessing that the Flash was Barry for a while now. But at the crime scene today when the Flash broke free of the ice... Eddie had caught him and stared into mesmerizing - familiar - blue eyes. And, as he looked into Barry's eyes, Eddie heard Barry's voice tell him thanks. 

It had been all Eddie could do not to kiss Barry right then and there.

He'd been uncertain before, but now there was no doubt in Eddie's mind. Barry Allen was the Flash. Barry Allen was the amazing and impossible hero of Central City. Eddie had known that the Flash was brave and bold and looked delectable in that ridiculous red suit and he'd hoped he was right because, well, he did have a bit of a thing for the Flash. But now he knew that the Flash was kind and a bit of a klutz and chronically late and rubbed at the back of neck when he was nervous and the smile was just that little bit brighter when he was waxing poetic about science and... 

Finding out Barry was the Flash - even though Barry wasn't ready to trust him with that yet - just made Eddie love Barry all the more.

Joe had to know. The excuses Joe had made for Barry over the last several weeks made more sense in this context. Though it did leave Joe's more recent coldness towards Barry unexplained.

Iris also had to know. So much of Barry's life revolved around her that the idea Barry hadn't told her was just... preposterous. They were Barry and Iris - Iris and Barry - and there was an entanglement between them that made so much sense when they were together. In some ways, loving Barry meant loving Iris too; one could not be had without the other. And Eddie wasn't sure what that meant for him, but... he wanted to find out.

Though, when Eddie thought about it, there were others who had to know too. Those two scientists from STAR Labs that Barry hung out with likely knew. They also made excuses for Barry and, well, he had to be getting help - the suit and medical backup - from somewhere. What had likely started as help studying and understanding his powers had likely shifted into helping Barry learn how to manage his heroic feats. And certainly Eddie was glad Barry had them helping him, even while being jealous that he couldn't yet be counted as Barry's backup.

However, all these thoughts leave Eddie distracted all afternoon and Joe finally banishes him to go have a coffee break and not come back until he's more focused and less distractible. Eddie decides to head to Jitters. He still hasn't actually tried their new drink, named after the very man running circles through Eddie's brain, and maybe it's time to give it a try.

Barry's got a late shift all week and he's apparently already out on a crime scene besides, so he's not available to go to the coffee shop with Eddie. And as Eddie walks into Jitter's alone, he's a little saddened to see Iris isn't there either. However, once in line, Eddie does realize he recognizes the two people in front of him.

They're Barry's STAR Labs friends - Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow. At least, Eddie's pretty sure he's remembering their names right. He's only met them twice and only briefly each time. So it'd probably be weird, right?

Right.

Except they're Barry's friends and if he wants to date Barry then he should say hi to be polite right?

Right.

Eddie opens his mouth to say hello only to shut it as he registers the hushed conversation they're having.

"I mean, Barry finally told Iris so that's a good sign right?" Cisco was saying. "Now he can tell her the other thing."

"I hope so," Caitlin sighed. "I know we haven't known them long, but I can already tell they're definitely so much worse than Ronnie and I ever were. It might take Iris a bit to realize she reciprocates Barry's feelings, but... you should have seen the look on her face the other day."

Eddie felt his stomach plummet to somewhere around his shoes. Barry had feelings for Iris?

Obviously Iris had no idea, but... if she had feelings for Barry and hadn't quite realized it yet... that would explain a few things. How uncomfortable she got when he asked if Barry was bi, the awkwardness at dinner the other night... the way she'd teased Barry in the kitchen the morning after their movie marathon had felt like flirting and Eddie had enjoyed their interactions at the time. He'd felt like the three of them were... in their own little world.

But the truth was that he was just the third wheel. Because Barry loved Iris. It was so obvious. No wonder he'd thought there was something between them before.

And the worst part was, despite the embarrassment and jealousy Eddie felt over making an idiot of himself over someone who was clearly not interested in him... he wanted Barry and Iris to be happy together. They'd make a wonderful couple.

"You gonna order?" asked the barista at the counter shortly, pulling Eddie from his muddled thoughts. 

"Sorry," Eddie sighed, feeling dazed and not particularly enthusiastic about trying the Flash anymore.

It was just a reminder of what he could never really have. And he's not feeling the sweetness of a caramel macchiato either. That's somehow sort of become his thing with Iris. 

He orders a Chai Latte instead. 


	4. Chapter 4

Time to take stock for one last time. The name of the game is love triangles, and this is certainly a fun one.

There've been a couple of minor misunderstandings. Like Barry thinking Eddie likes Flash-him but not regular-him and Eddie thinking that Barry's feelings for Iris means he'll never have a chance with either of them.

Thank goodness Iris is ahead of the game or these boys would probably never get anywhere on their own. Because as she - and everyone else playing along who isn't named Barry Allen or Eddie Thawne - is aware, the triangle looks like this: Iris West <=> Barry Allen <=> Eddie Thawne <=> Iris West. She's, admittedly, a little concerned she's reading the feelings between herself and Eddie wrong, but she's confident enough to be willing to take the jump anyway.

Now if only they could manage to pin Eddie down for more than ten minutes in a hallway in the CCPD...

* * *

Barry hated taking the late shifts at work. It always threw off his sleep schedule and, with the addition of his duties as the Flash, made balancing his actual work and his vigilantism difficult. The only thing worse was being on call and having to go out to a crime scene at 2:00 AM. Which had happened, though at least now getting a ride to the crime scenes was no longer an issue.

Thankfully, getting the late shift didn't happen to him too often, since he was the in house CSI. It was expected that he'd be available to the detectives during the most active times of the day, essentially the nine-to-five office hours. But he couldn't completely avoid getting stuck with less accessible hours from time to time.

Of course it's right when he really needs to talk to Eddie and figure out what his feelings for the other man even are, that Barry's stuck with work hours all week that practically keep him from doing more than smiling and waving to Eddie from a distance.

It sucks.

On Thursday morning, Barry attends the press conference at Geoffrey Labs with Iris. It's a small lab and their announcement is on a innovative method of neutralizing radioactive waste. Afterwards they get lunch together and Barry is happy to give Iris his opinion on what had been said.

"If their process works the way they claim, it'll cut down on a tremendous amount of nuclear waste. And it'll take a third of the amount of time and cost as current methods. To be honest, it sounds too good to be true," Barry admitted. "The process they described was incomplete for proprietary reasons, but it doesn't make sense that it would be that effective. While I wouldn't be surprised if it did clean up some radiation, it's more likely to take more time, not less. If I had to guess, I'd assume they were faking the results somehow."

Iris nodded. "This time last year their lab's research was going no where and they were on the verge of going bankrupt. And then in January, they had a massive breakthrough of some kind. And their lead scientist, Dr. Rothstein, went missing around the same time."

"Iris, this isn't actually for your journalism class, is it?"

"Do you think it'll look good on my resume if I break a science scandal on my blog?" she asked, grinning impishly.

Barry sighed. "I'm so glad you know to call me first if you get in a dangerous situation now. I'm more likely to get to you anywhere in the city before Joe can."

"I promise to let you know before I go anywhere dangerous on purpose," Iris assured him. The playful look in her eyes promised trouble, however, and Barry wondered how long it'd be before he was catching her after jumping off a building to get away from bad men with guns. "Now, to completely change the subject, but are we on with Eddie for _Lord of the Rings_ this weekend?"

Barry groaned and let his head droop down against the table. "No," he said, voice muffled. "I've barely even been able to speak to him all week. Our schedules are off and we're both busy even on the occasion we are in the building at the same time. And I texted him yesterday, but didn't hear anything back. It was a generic 'hi' so he probably just forgot..."

Iris frowned and hummed thoughtfully. "He hasn't been at Jitters while I'm there either. He's got to be on a macchiato withdrawal."

Snorting softly, Barry said, "he's sweet, just like his coffee."

"He is sweet. And hot." Iris exchanged a mischievous grin with Barry. 

It was a little surreal, in some ways, having his longstanding crush helping hook him up with his new crush. But Barry wasn't going to complain. The more he thought about Eddie, the more certain he was that he really did have feelings for the other man. He was always so bad at realizing when he liked someone - some part of him always expected his romantic feelings for others to feel exactly like his feelings for Iris and they never did. Each crush was unique... and usually ended up crushing him in some way.

Hopefully that wouldn't be the case with Eddie.

* * *

Eddie had been avoiding Iris and Barry ever since finding out they were dating. Or soon to be dating anyway. 

Well... 

Barry's friends thought they were idiots in love, anyway. Eddie wasn't going to get in the way of that.

Looking back on that weekend, it was clear Eddie was the third wheel. His attempt to ask Barry out on a date had wound up turning him into the odd man out on Barry's evening with Iris and then on the weekend... the closeness between Barry and Iris was obvious. And Eddie couldn't even resent Iris properly for it because he was starting to like her too.

He'd enjoyed the _Star Wars_ movies too, but Eddie doubted he'd ever be able to rewatch them without thinking of Barry and Iris and the taste of what dating one, or both, of them might've been like if only things had been a little different.

Of course, avoiding someone - or someones - only works if you know where they are in order to avoid them. And Eddie's mental map of Barry and Iris' day to day comings and goings was apparently somewhat incomplete. Because Friday morning Eddie arrives at work to find Barry asleep in his chair and Iris perched on his desk with three to-go cups of coffee. She's petting Barry's hair and looking so content... Eddie hates to interrupt. (And he maybe surreptitiously snaps a picture first.) But he does need his desk. And Joe is giving Eddie some very suspicious looking side-eyes. 

"Caramel macchiato," Iris chirped, smiling brightly at Eddie as she handed him the aforementioned coffee. "Extra caramel. You haven't been by Jitters the last few days and I thought I'd bring my favorite detective his favorite coffee."

Joe makes a throat-clearing noise and gave his daughter a pointed look.

"I'd have brought dad a coffee too, but he's in the dog house. And he knows very well why. I did bring one for my favorite CSI too, but Bar was already asleep by the time I got here." Iris tapped the only cup still in the carrier. "I got him a Flash. We should probably wake him before it goes cold."

"I also need my desk back," Eddie said in amusement, letting his hand come to rest on Barry's shoulder and giving the younger man's shoulder a light shake. "And he should be sleeping somewhere more comfortable. What is he even still doing here, after his late shift last night?"

"We've been trying to talk to you," Iris told him. "But it's been a busy week all around. We wanted to do another movie marathon this weekend, but only if you're free to join too."

Making a soft humming sound, Barry sat up, his eyes barely open and his hair all squashed looking on one side where it had been pressed against the desk and his arm. Which, honestly, made him look all the more adorable as he beamed at Eddie. "You're here!"

"Hi," Eddie said, unable to resist reaching out to ruffle Barry's flattened hair a little. "I hear I'm invited to movie night."

Barry nodded sleepily, leaning into the light touch of Eddie's fingers. Eddie glanced up at Iris and blushed at the very pleased expression on her face. He felt a little like he was missing something important.

" _Lord of the Rings_ Extended Edition," Barry said, yawning. "Is that coffee?"

Iris handed him the Flash, which Barry cradled in his hands like he was Sméagol with the one ring. "Caffeine for the sleep deprived. I should drop sleepy here off at his apartment on my way to class, but first," Iris touched Eddie's shoulder, "you're going to join us tomorrow for movies, right? I've got the whole day off, so I won't have to miss anything this time."

"I, uh, yeah." Eddie probably would've agreed to anything Iris or Barry asked of him at that moment. The combination of Barry being adorable and Iris being oddly intense was just... well... Eddie would have agreed to anything.

"Good. I'll see you at Barry's at eight-ish. I'll bring the coffee if you'll bring the donuts." Iris hopped off the desk and helped Barry to his feet.

"Will you even be awake enough to watch the first movie, Barry?" Eddie teased.

Barry shrugged. "Don't hold it against me if I fall asleep on you. Literally."

Eddie would most definitely not hold it against him. In fact, Eddie would probably try to cuddle the sleeping man into a more comfortable position. He was, definitely, doomed.

Once Iris and Barry were out the door, Eddie stared blankly at his now vacated chair and desk. "What just happened?" He finally asked, not really expecting a response.

"Hurricane Iris," Joe told him. "I guess she's more mad at me than I thought."

It was probably for the best that Eddie didn't voice his next thought out loud. Joe wouldn't have appreciated being told his kids' lives didn't revolve around him quite that much.

* * *

Iris let herself into Barry's apartment and set the three coffees down on the kitchen counter before going back to shut the door. "Got the first movie lined up?" she asked as Barry came out of his bedroom, nomming on a powerbar.

"DVDs are over there, so I just need to put the first one in and we're good to go. You know, Iris, you don't need to set me and Eddie up. It's sweet, but he's probably not interested..."

"Oh, he's interested," Iris told him. "Trust me. Do you have dry erase board here?"

"Uh... yes?" Barry gave her a confused look. "Why?"

"I want to borrow it when Eddie gets here. I have something to discuss with you both and I want to use the board... to help illustrate my points." Iris smiled and batted her eyes jokingly.

"I'll go grab it," Barry told her, rolling his eyes and disappearing back into his bedroom. He came back out with a slightly beat up looking whiteboard and presented it, and a pack of multicolored dry erase markers, to Iris with a flourish. "What you were hoping for?"

"Perfect," Iris replied. "Now... where I can set this up..."

"One more thing," Barry said and, with a grin, blurred for a second. Then he was holding a cheap easel. "This works as a stand. Kleenex is over there if you need to erase anything."

"Thank you." Iris set up her little display and then retrieved her coffee, handing off Barry's to him as she did so. "Any word on when Eddie'll get here?"

"He texted right before you walked in. He's got the donuts and was only about five minutes away. So he should be here any minute."

"I had good timing, then." Iris settled down onto the couch to wait. Hopefully what she was planning would go over well. She was a little afraid she was about to ruin a perfectly nice movie marathon. 

There's knocking on the door a few minutes later and Eddie comes in with the donuts and kolaches. Despite having already eaten breakfast, Barry immediately starts nomming on a maple donut after taking one of the two boxes from Eddie to 'help' move the goods to the coffee table.

Eddie just laughs as he shuts the door behind him and joins Iris and Barry on the couch. "What's with the white board?"

Barry shrugged. "I have no idea. Iris?"

"Ah, right, well..." she snagged a jalapeño kolache and stood up, grabbing three different colored markers as she did so. "I have something of a... presentation for you guys first. And it's kind of... meandering, but if you'll bear with me I do have an important point to make but I need to give it context first so..." She ate a bite of the kolache and then stuck it on a napkin on the coffee table while the guys exchanged uncertain glances but nodded gamely just the same.

"Okay, so... we've got a scenario involving three people." Iris drew three dots on the board. One red, one blue, and one green. "We'll call them by their colors for a little while. So Blue has a crush on Green but when she goes to confess her feelings to him, she learns Green actually has feelings for Red." She illustrated this with a little blue arrow going from the blue dot towards green and, similar green arrow pointing towards the red dot. "However, it turns out that Red actually has long standing feelings for Blue that he's never spoken of because he thinks she'd never feel the same." Another arrow. "Which Blue learns about by accident."

Barry shifted uncomfortably, frowning at the board thoughtfully.

"Love triangle," Eddie observed, looking a touch flustered too. "Have we just become a test audience for a potential romcom plot for a novel?"

"No novel. Though... maybe..." Iris hummed and then shook her head. "No. But you are correct. We have a genuine love triangle here. But this was just it's initial form. You see, they started spending time together. Dinner, movies... hanging out and getting to know each other better. Blue started to realize that she'd actually been in love with Red for just about as long as he'd loved her. And Red discovered that he had strong romantic feelings for Green too."

Barry was staring intently at the board, as though what she was really saying was clicking in his head. "Iris..." he looked up at her in equal parts confusion and hope.

"In fact... the only thing I'm not sure about is if Green's begun to reciprocate Blue's feelings for him," Iris finished, drawing a final arrow, but this one with a question mark by it.

Eddie stood up, snagging a black marker. "Can I?" he asked, nodding to the board.

Iris nodded and, quietly, Eddie erased the question mark and then filled in their names. Iris over the blue dot, Eddie for green, and Barry for red. "This is about us - all of us - isn't it?"

"That's right." Iris reached out and tangled her fingers with Eddie's and then held out a hand towards Barry, who was off the couch like a shot in order to join his hands with theirs too.

To Iris' amusement, they formed the very same triangle she'd drawn on the board.

"This is... I'm not dreaming, am I?" Barry asked quietly. "You both like me back? Because I, uh... I really do like both of you. So much."

Eddie kissed Barry's cheek. Then he pulled away, blushing. "I thought the two of you were... I heard your friends talking about... I figured I was just a third wheel."

"And I thought you liked Iris. Or the Flash. But not... not me," Barry ducked his head. "And, well... I never thought you'd ever..." he trailed off, avoiding looking at Iris.

"Well, Barry, I have been in love with you for a very long time. I just needed a push to figure it out. And the three of us fit, Eddie. You're not a third wheel when you're with us. You're the piece we've been missing all this time." Iris felt like her heart might burst. It was a ridiculously cheesy idea to just... draw out and narrate their growing relationship. And it couldn't have worked out better.

"So what was that about you thinking I like the Flash and not you, Barry?" Eddie asked in confusion. "I mean... you are the Flash. Aren't you?"

Iris started to giggle while Barry took his hands back in order to bury his face in them. "I am so bad at this secret identity thing."

* * *

By the end of the first movie, Barry was tucked up against Eddie's side, sleeping soundly despite the ridiculous amount of caffeine in his signature drink. Apparently neither caffeine nor alcohol had any affect on him now that he was a speedster.

Eddie was, in turn, snuggled against Iris. His head resting on her shoulder as he idly ran his fingers through Barry's hair. 

They still had a lot to talk about. None of them had any experience being in a polyamorous relationship. Which they had no idea what to call yet, since Iris hated the word thrupple with the burning passion of a thousand suns.

("It just sounds so weird and wrong," Iris had grumbled when Barry had cheerfully brought up the term. Given how he'd snickered, it was likely Barry'd known exactly how much Iris wouldn't like the term. And the long suffering and amused expressions they'd each turned on Eddie had made him feel like he belonged, just like Iris had told him.)

But they had time to figure those details out. For now... now was for enjoying each other's company in the certainty that they were going to have a lot of warm, comfortable days like this in their future.

Assuming Joe doesn't shoot Eddie first. Though Eddie has no doubt that Joe West will hear that the three of them are in a relationship together and immediately (correctly) assume this was Iris' idea. (And, presumably, Barry will catch any bullets aimed at Eddie. Perks of having a boyfriend who can run faster than the speed of sound.)

The credits were rolling across the screen and Iris murmured, "we should wake him up for lunch. And maybe start figuring out a few of our relationship boundaries."

"Sounds good," Eddie murmured, tilting his head up and humming with pleasure as Iris' mouth fitted itself against his own. 

"That's nice to wake up to," Barry said, voice thick from sleep.

Eddie couldn't help himself. Once his kiss with Iris came to an end, he leaned down for another kiss, reveling in the taste of Barry's mouth and the feather light brush of Iris' fingers against the back of his neck and the pleasant warmth of being snuggled between them both.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Joe totally realizes what Iris was up to after the ambush at Eddie's desk. She was flirting with both Eddie and Barry all at once, after all. He's just decided to pretend he has no idea since he's in enough trouble with Iris as it is. And he does recognize on some level that what he'd asked of Barry was unfair. Of course, he's never going to let Barry live it down when he learns Eddie successfully guessed the Flash's identity...


End file.
